Dana White aiming for 50/50 split in Mayweather vs. McGregor fight

As negotiations for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight approach, Dana White has adjusted his anticipated split back up to fifty fifty.

Forget all that previous talk about A sides and B sides. If Dana White has his way, the purse for the boxing superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather will be split right down the middle, fifty fifty.

“We haven’t even talked percentages yet,” White said on Wednesday (via MMA Fighting). “Floyd can think whatever, but the machine that the UFC has, and Conor McGregor alone is a machine by himself. I think that 50-50 is pretty fair.”

Part of that machine involves gears that extend out into many international markets, something White made sure to mention when talking up potential pay-per-view buys.

“I think this thing does, conservatively, between 2-1/2 and 4 million buys,” he continued. “Other people think more. … And this thing will kill it, globally. Conor McGregor and the UFC are huge in Brazil, huge in Australia, massive in the UK and other parts of Europe.”

50/50 is new talk from White, who previously voiced a rough 60/40 split in favor of Mayweather. But even if that’s still his opinion, it would be silly to go in with that as your first offer, lest you end up 70/30. 50/50 is the obvious starting point for any negotiations. And White seems confident that we won’t see the kind of ridiculous shenanigans that caused Mayweather vs. Pacquiao to drag and delay for years.

“You’ve gotta understand, Floyd and [Al] Haymon and that group are used to dealing with the scummiest human beings on the planet Earth,” White said. “I think it’s a little refreshing working with us. And I’m not just being arrogant. They’ve said that to us. I can see it getting done.”